Tomy Varghese

Tomy Varghese is a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, with an additional affiliation in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His research is centered on the development of advanced medical imaging techniques, particularly in the field of elastography and quantitative ultrasound.

• Primary Affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering
• Secondary Affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Institution: University of Wisconsin–Madison

Research Interests: Dr. Varghese's research focuses on signal and image processing applications in medical imaging for early cancer detection. His work emphasizes the development of novel elasticity imaging techniques such as Elastography, which functions as a 'high-tech' form of palpation by imaging tissue stiffness. His lab explores various modalities including ultrasonic, MRI, and optical coherence tomographic (OCT) elastography. Key areas include strain imaging in tumors of the breast, prostate, liver, and kidney; monitoring of minimally invasive ablative therapies; shear wave imaging; cardiac strain imaging; and temperature imaging during thermal therapies.

His signal processing methods analyze the Fourier phase and magnitude of RF ultrasonic echoes using spectral autocorrelation (Generalized Spectrum) to detect disruptions in tissue microstructure caused by cancer, offering improved accuracy over traditional scatterer spacing estimation. Additional research areas include electrode displacement and vibration elastography, ultrasound attenuation imaging, plaque characterization, and uterine mass imaging.

Dr. Varghese's work has significant clinical impact, with applications in early cancer diagnosis, tissue characterization, and therapy monitoring. His laboratory collaborates with clinical and medical physics teams both within UW-Madison and externally.

Advising and Grants: He has mentored numerous doctoral and master’s students, many of whom now hold academic, clinical, and industrial positions in medical physics, radiation oncology, and biomedical engineering. His research is supported by peer-reviewed funding and has led to patents and clinical translation.

• Laboratory Focus: Development of novel elasticity imaging techniques and quantitative ultrasound
• Applications: Cancer detection, thermal therapy monitoring, cardiovascular imaging, gynecological imaging